Religious leaders, as watchdogs, should speak truth to power —Onuesoke

The Sultan of Sokoto has expressed fear over future elections in the country based on what transpired during the 2019 general elections. His fear is based on the role played by some religious leaders, who allegedly openly canvassed for their candidates of choice instead of being apolitical. Do you share his views that religious leaders keep a distance from political office seekers?

I may not totally share the views of the Sultan, basically because politics and religion are somehow intricately intertwined. It is very difficult to separate politics from religion. Though there is need to balance the scale so as not to overheat the polity. Saying that religious leaders should just stay away from politics is like telling them to be neutral in the face of obvious political oppression, injustice, corruption, political brutality and political subjugation by politicians. History is replete with stories of religious leaders being the instigators of real and genuine political change which has brought about enormous social-economic transformation in our world. So, you see its not totally wrong for religious leaders to openly pitch tent with their choice political candidate, as this may be borne out of the desire or crave to see real and genuine political paradigm shift, but they must be careful how they go about their support for candidates of their choice in order not to overheat the polity.

 

But do you agree with the Sultan that some clerics have turned their worship centres to campaign grounds? Is it right on their part?

It is absolutely wrong to turn worship centers to campaign grounds; religious leaders must be very mindful of their actions as the result of their actions can have consequential effects on the polity.

 

Would you say the Sultan himself has been neutral in expressing support for political gladiators so far as he has claimed?

I cannot say the Sultan has been totally neutral. I would rather say he has been evasive about his support for certain political gladiators, especially from the core North. The role of the Sultan in the just-concluded 2019 general elections and that of 2015 is still very fresh in our memory. He has not been totally honest with his neutrality stance, judging from some of his statements and actions in recent times with regard to killings ravaging the northern part of the country. That you are a religious leader does not mean you have to be neutral when your people are being maimed and killed on daily basis. Religious leaders ought to be the watchdog of the society, especially in time such as we find ourselves as a nation. Religious leaders owe it a point of duty to speak truth to power at all time not minding if those in power come from the same ethnic groups as them, that’s what we are yet to see from the Sultan.

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So, to what extent should religious leaders speak truth to power without being labelled partisan?

At every point in time religious leaders owe it as a point of duty to speak truth to power at all times, especially in times like what we are experiencing in most northern part of the country… enough of the silence and deafness, Nigerians are being killed, ripped apart, and tormented by unknown bandits, terrorists and herdsmen, there is no better time to speak truth to power than this time we are now.

 

The Sultan said the country should begin to plan ahead of the 2023 elections to ensure we have leaders of our choice and not leaders forced on us. What’s your reaction to this statement?

Yes. There is nothing wrong to start preparing ahead of the elections in 2023, but why we try to look ahead, we should not lose sight of what is currently before us, else we are bound to make the same mistakes over and over again. We must, first of all, try as much as possible to heal the wounds of the just-concluded elections by putting our house in order. We have never been this divided as a people, hence there is a need to look at those areas where we didn’t get it right in the first place by reviewing our electoral laws and try to make sure our electoral processes are free from interference from the powerful individuals whose selfish interest always supersede their interest for the country. We must also ensure our electoral umpire is truly independent and free from the control of the executive so as to create room for unbiased and fair electioneering process come 2013.

 

What should leaders in the North, which is currently under the siege of gun-totters, do to arrest the situation?

What we are witnessing in the northern part of the country today is so unfortunate and it’s a thing that calls for serious concern by all well-meaning Nigerians. Northern Leaders must begin to take a serious review of their commitment to their people and they must come together in unison to confront this current debacle.

 

What can be done, in your view, to genuinely unite all ethnic groups in the country?

The unity of this country is very paramount to our survival as a people, therefore all ethnic groups must realize that Nigeria is for all and, therefore, we must put the interest of the country first before our individual interest; we must have a sense of patriotism for our fatherland because we don’t have another place to call our country, we must hold dear to our heart those values that tend to keep us together.

 

What should leaders, especially religious ones, do to engender peace and unity ahead of 2023 elections?

Religious leaders must begin to see themselves as role models and therefore the message of tolerance, love and selflessness should be at the forefront of their activities and actions.